Author: Gesi Lloyd

A sluggish area of low pressure sitting in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is shaping up to be the region’s biggest weather story heading into the weekend. Forecasters say the system has only a modest chance of organizing into anything tropical, but that hasn’t stopped it from loading the atmosphere with moisture across Central Florida and the greater Tampa Bay area. Meteorologists expect scattered afternoon and evening storms to keep firing through Monday, with the heaviest activity favoring inland communities. Some of those storms could pack frequent lightning, wind gusts as high as 55 mph and heavy downpours capable of…

Jay-Z is basking in a proud parenting moment. At Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Fest luncheon on July 17, the rapper briefly addressed reporters about the opening night of his 30th anniversary concert series, a run that kicked off July 10 at Yankee Stadium in New York. Asked whether the show ranked among his favorite moments, he did not hesitate to agree that it was a clear highlight, brushing off any need for further explanation. To Jay-Z, the highlight of his Yankee Stadium shows was performing with Blue Ivy 💙 pic.twitter.com/0Dv31y7n6m — 7happy (@Sevenhappy007) July 17, 2026 The Yankee Stadium set brought…

More than 100 million people across the Midwest, Northeast and Mid Atlantic spent the past few days breathing air thick with smoke drifting down from wildfires burning across Canada. Officials in Chicago described the conditions as the worst air quality the city has recorded, and similar warnings went out in Milwaukee, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington. Health departments handed out masks, closed outdoor pools and spray parks, and urged residents to limit time outside. The haze reshaped a packed summer calendar. A baby parade in Flint was called off, a concert in Herndon was scrapped, and Pittsburgh’s America’s Mile marathon never…

Federal investigators have zeroed in on shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants as a possible source behind a rapidly growing outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic illness that has sickened thousands of people across the Midwest this year. A Familiar Taco Bell Supplier name Resurfaces The lettuce came from Taylor Farms, a major California based produce supplier, according to people familiar with the investigation. Neither Taylor Farms nor Yum Brands, Taco Bell’s parent company, has responded publicly to requests for comment, and federal and state health officials have not yet formally announced a cause behind the outbreak’s spread. This…

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship on its 13th flight test as early as Thursday, aiming to correct problems from the previous mission while carrying a new generation of Starlink satellites for the first time. A new launch window opens The 90 minute launch window at Starbase in Cameron County, Texas, opens at 5:45 p.m. local time Thursday, translating to the early hours of Friday for viewers in India and other time zones well ahead of the U.S. As with all developmental testing, SpaceX has cautioned the schedule remains dynamic and could shift. A live webcast is set to begin…

A predawn earthquake shook the area around Frazier Park early Sunday, sending tremors across a wide stretch of Southern California and triggering the region’s ShakeAlert system, though no injuries or damage were immediately reported. An earthquake before sunrise The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake at about 3:38 a.m. Sunday, with an epicenter roughly one mile southeast of Frazier Park in Kern County, at a depth of about 13 kilometers. Initial readings put the magnitude at 4.4, though the USGS later revised that figure down to 4.2 as seismologists reviewed additional data, a routine adjustment that often follows the first…

The Trump administration issued subpoenas Friday to several New York Times journalists following the newspaper’s reporting on possible security gaps involving the president’s newer Air Force One, according to the paper. The subpoenas direct the reporters to appear before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday. Federal agents delivered some of the documents directly to reporters at their homes, the Times said. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. The paper’s top newsroom lawyer, David McCraw, called the use of federal agents to serve reporters at their residences a…

Jay-Z kicked off a three night run at Yankee Stadium on Friday, marking 30 years since his debut album changed the sound of New York rap forever. The rapper walked out around 9:27 p.m. in a bomber jacket and matching cap, greeting a hometown crowd of roughly 45,000 people before diving into a two hour set built almost entirely around Reasonable Doubt, his 1996 debut. The night was billed as the first of his Jay-Z 30 shows, a mini residency built to celebrate the album alongside the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint, which gets its own night Saturday. A third…

A shooting near Seapark Apartments left eight people wounded, including four children, just an hour after a Fourth of July fireworks display. A festive Fourth of July night in Brooklyn turned violent late Saturday when gunfire erupted in Coney Island, leaving eight people wounded, four of them children. Gunfire follows a night of fireworks Police say the shooting happened around 10.37 p.m. on the 2900 block of West 31st Street, near the Seapark Apartments, roughly an hour after a fireworks display in the area marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. The New York Police Department said officers responded to reports of…

A knee injury from her singles return kept Serena from joining Venus on court, ending one of Wimbledon’s most anticipated reunions before it began. Serena Williams will not take the court with her sister Venus at Wimbledon after all, withdrawing from their first round doubles match Saturday because of a knee injury that never fully healed in time. An injury that started days earlier The trouble began during Serena’s singles return on Tuesday, when the 44 year old twisted her knee in the first set of a marathon loss to 20 year old Maya Joint of Australia. Williams fought through…